Women’s tennis fall season comes to an end
The two qualifying Trojans failed to place in the NCAA Individual Championships.
By AANYA BANSAL
Senior Grace Piper and sophomore Lily Fairclough competed in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships at Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas from Nov. 19 to 24. The pair were in contention for a doubles championship, with Piper also competing in singles.
After a definitive 6-2, 6-4 win against the Baylor duo of seniors Liubov Kostenko and Cristina Tiglea in the Round of 32, Piper and Fairclough — ranked No. 20 — fell 7-5, 6-3 to the Duke University pairing of freshman Irina Balus and senior Ellie Coleman in the round of 16. The loss brought the Trojan duo’s season record to 6-3. The Blue Devils’ run ended in the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-1 loss to Florida’s undefeated pair, junior Rachel Gailis and senior Alicia Dudeney.
The Virginia pairing of seniors Mélodie Collard and Elaine Chervinsky claimed the program’s first NCAA doubles title with a grueling three-set 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 win over UCLA’s freshman duo of Olivia Center and Kate Fakih.
Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.
In the singles bracket, Piper — ranked No. 36 — lost 7-6(1), 6-3 in the round of 32 to Oklahoma junior Julia Garcia Ruiz, who went on to lose in the semifinals to Auburn junior DJ Bennett 6-1, 3-6, 7-5. Bennett is the first women’s tennis player from Auburn to compete in the finals of the tournament. Bennett took second while Georgia senior Dasha Vidmanova won 6-3, 6-3, securing Georgia’s fourth NCAA Singles Championships title.
This year marks the start of a two-year pilot program with the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships played in the fall and the NCAA Team Championship remaining in the spring instead of the usual tournament structure with the individual and team championships both taking place at the end of the spring season.
In team history, the Trojans have won five national singles titles and two national doubles titles, the most cumulative national titles for any women’s program at USC.
With the end of the fall season, junior Emma Charney reaches an ITA ranking of No. 15, her highest-ever ranking at five places higher than last season’s ranking of No. 20.
As for the rest of the team, freshmen Jana Hossam, Simone Kay and Anya Murthy have completed their first fall seasons as Trojans and played an important part in USC’s sweep of the Women of Troy Invite — one of two home tournaments this fall. Hossam won the singles title, and Murthy and senior Sloane Morra took the doubles title.
The No. 13 Trojans will return to the court for dual-match play in January.
